A Sampling of Clips for June 16^th, 2008

* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office

Julie Swail Ertel Returns to Olympics in New Sport
Voice of American, June 15 -- Julie Swail Ertel was still a toddler when she started swimming. Growing up in warm and sunny California, it is no surprise that she got started in the pool at an early age. She was on UCSD’s women’s water polo team and as VOA's Steve Schy reports, she turned her love of swimming into her ticket to the Olympics. More

First, Do Not Give Up
Boson Globe, June 15 -- In the treatment of brain cancer, where a number of experimental options are emerging but little is known for sure, the stakes are particularly high. When the landscape is shifting quickly, how do you ensure that all patients - not just senators - get the best treatment? (Quotes Ben Williams, a psychology professor at UCSD) More

Conspiracy Theory
Dallas Morning News, June 15 -- As scientific evidence accumulates on the destructive impact of carbon-dioxide emissions, a handful of lawyers are beginning to bring suits against the major contributors to climate change. (Quotes Naomi Oreskes, a professor of history and science studies at UCSD) More

Sacramento Suffers in Throes of Oil Shock
Sacramento Bee, June 14 -- With a force not seen in decades, the high cost of energy is hammering the economy in Sacramento and beyond. It's keeping shoppers away from Arden Fair mall and thinning out the crowds at Sacramento International Airport. It's hurting restaurants and crippling SUV sales. (Quotes UCSD economist James Hamilton) More

Transformative Technologies
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 15 – While the industry is often praised for its value in creating jobs and wealth, what often isn't fully appreciated is the transformative potential of biotechnology. Consider the exciting work now being done by Steve Kay, Steve Briggs and their colleagues at UCSD. Their research suggests that algae – what they jokingly call “pond scum” – has the potential to be the cleanest, most practical biofuel of all. More

UCSD Study: DHEA Not Beneficial
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 16 – Healthy seniors who take DHEA tablets to protect memory or pep up their sex lives are wasting money, according to a yearlong UCSD study that found no gains from the over-the-counter hormone supplement. More

'Dada': For Chris Mattarollo, the Whole World is In That One Word
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 15 – Oh, what a difference a year makes. Chris Mattarollo's difficult first days as a father were chronicled on the front page of The San Diego Union-Tribune last Father's Day. He spent months by his son's side, first in the neonatal intensive-care unit at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest, then at the family's Oceanside home. More

Biotech Breakthroughs
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 16 – The biotech industry employs more than 40,000 people in more than 400 companies and research laboratories in San Diego County. Scientific discoveries out of respected research institutions, such as UCSD, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Scripps Research Institute on Torrey Pines Mesa, have been spun into hundreds of biotechnology companies. More

A New Take on Organic Chemistry
Chemical and Engineering News, June 16  -- Coffee table books on synthetic organic chemistry don't appear every day, and few in fact have ever been published at all. But take heart. A colorful, large-format book on the subject has just been written by synthetic chemist K. C. Nicolaou of Scripps Research Institute and UCSD, and his former postdoc Tamsyn Montagnon, now a research fellow at the University of Crete. More

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables for City Heights Residents
La Prensa, June 13 – Last Saturday, the City Heights Farmers’ Market began to serve the ethnic population that lives in what’s considered the most diverse community in the County of San Diego. Besides being the first farmers’ market that accepts EBT in the county, the City Heights Farmers’ Market will meet the needs of the Latino and other ethnic communities in City Heights to find culturally appropriate produce, said one of the planners, Blanca Meléndrez, San Diego regional director of Network for a Healthy California, at the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Community Pediatrics of the UCSD School of Medicine. More

UCSD’s Cross Cultural Center–A Grand Space to Celebrate Diversity
La Prensa, June 13 -- It was a day that will forever be remembered by the students, staff and faculty of UCSD, for it marked the ‘new beginning’ of its Cross Cultural Center. This historic transfer of CCC from its previous location is a sweet realization of a dream, where “community wisdom and ideas take on an increased importance.” More

School to Present Check to Sick Boy
NBC San Diego, June 16 -- A first-grader fighting brain cancer will receive a check for thousands of dollars Monday, raised after the shocking theft of funds that had been raised in his honor. Connor Reid is being treated at Children’s Hospital and UCSD. More

Where Are the Democrats?
Voice of San Diego, June 16 -- The night before, Democrat Maureen O'Connor had won a second mayoral term in a landslide, giving rise to talk that the Republican stranglehold on the city's political power structure had loosened.(Quotes UCSD political scientist Steve Erie) More

San Diego Dialogue Receives Grant from Merck
San Diego Daily Transcript, June 13 -- In an effort to stimulate health and life science research and enterprise between California and Mexico, Merck & Co. Inc. and its subsidiary Merck, Sharp, & Dohme, have provided additional funding of $250,000 to San Diego Dialogue, a public policy research initiative at UCSD Extension. More

UCSD to Study Impact of Video Games on Teenage Health
San Diego Business Journal, June 16 -- UCSD researchers in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine will use $198,000 to discover how interactive digital games can be designed to improve health in teenagers. More